Yogyakarta, Bali Still at PPKM Level 4; Semarang at PPKM Level 2
Coordinating Minister for Maritime and Investment Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan attends virtual press conference on PPKM (30/08/2021). (Source: YouTube Channel of Presidential Secretariat)
The Government has announced that the public activity restrictions (PPKM) policy Level 4, 3, and 2 from 23 August to 30 August 2021 has caused a drop in COVID-19 transmission rate so that the development of COVID-19 handling in Indonesia has also shown an improvement.
As of today, the national trend of COVID-19 confirmed cases has dropped to 90.4 percent and the trend in Java and Bali has decreased 94 percent since its peak on 15 July 2021, according to Coordinating Minister for Maritime and Investment Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan (30/08).
According to Luhut, regencies/municipalities that apply PKKM Level 2 has increased from 10 to 27 regencies/municipalities, while regencies/municipalities that apply PKKM Level 3 has also increased from 67 to 76 regencies/municipalities.
In the meantime, regencies/municipalities that apply PPKM Level 4 has decreased from 51 to 25 regencies/municipalities.
“In Java and Bali, there is an increase in agglomeration areas that apply PPKM Level 3 including Malang Greater Area and Solo Greater Area. So, PPKM Level 3 in Java and Bali is implemented in agglomeration areas including Greater Areas of Jakarta, Bandung, Surabaya, Malang, and Solo. In the meantime, PPKM Level 2 is implemented in Semarang Greater Area, which means there is an improvement in the region,” Luhut said.
However, Luhut went on to say that there are still two agglomeration areas that must apply PPKM Level 4 namely Special Region of Yogyakarta and Bali, adding that both regions are estimated to implement PPKM Level 3 in the coming days.
Luhut also said especially in Bali, based on Presidential Directives, the province is expected to carry out immediate checks and interventions on the ground; therefore, it needs to inspect and evaluate problems faced on the ground in order to speed up the improvement of COVID-19 handling in the region.
Furthermore, Luhut noticed that the decreasing trend of COVID-19 cases and the improvement of COVID-19 handling in regencies/municipalities go hand in hand with the economy that rebuilds faster than it is expected.
It is also reported by the research center Mandiri Institute which states that there is an increase in the shopping index and visitation number of shopping places in Java and Bali. Moreover, there is an increase in people’s mobility in retail and tourism sectors.
“We have to be grateful for all the progress we have made. However, we all also have to stay extra vigilant because there are other countries in the world that are still facing a surge in COVID-19 cases. If we were not cautious, we would again struggle with the increasing cases,” he remarked. (TGH/AIT/UN) (AP/EP)
